SAGINAW -- Somehow, Jared Lorenzen was still standing with six seconds left on the clock, his Northern Kentucky River Monsters team down by five and driving at the Saginaw Sting 10-yard-line.

Lorenzen, the former New York Giants quarterback, had limped off the field in the third quarter, putting no weight on his left ankle.

He returned a quarter later, led his team back into the game hobbling on one leg, and was one throw away from stealing a win from the Sting before a Michael Carter sack sealed a 63-58 Sting win in front of 2,012 fans at The Dow Event Center Friday night.

"We were able to get our hands on him," Carter, the 38-year-old Sting defensive end, said. "He still was up, so we had to take him down, no matter if he was hurt or not."

The final play capped a back-and-forth game, that saw the Sting erase a 10-point halftime deficit, fall behind with less than two minutes left and retake the lead with 12 seconds left on the clock.

It also showed the Sting they can beat the league's top team with the playoffs looming a month away.

"It's big," Sting coach Vince Leveille said. "We're still in second, they're still in first, but now our guys know that we can slay the giant."

The Sting (8-3) are now one game back of the River Monsters in the league standings, and are still in the hunt for the league regular season title and the right to host the UIFL title game.